ODDSMAKERS

Trading David Price to the Cardinals for Albert Pujols?

We understand the temptation. The Cardinals are in rebuilding mode and are pitching-thin. The Rays have a set rotation, and a top pick that so far appears to be toying with minor league hitters. A Pujols in the Rays lineup would instantly make them a legit World Series contender. In addition, Pujols is the type of player that would brings fans to the Trop. And while we believe the Rays still have some flexibility in the payroll, are they willing to add a player that makes $16MM a season over the next 3 years? In today’s market, that is a bargain, but it still isn’t cheap. And they still owe Carlos Pena $18MM over the next 2 years. Not to mention, can the Rays give up already on Price who looks like an Ace in the making?…0.1%

TOSS UP

If Troy Percival goes on the DL…Grant Balfour, Juan Salas or Kurt Birkins?

The Rays have an open spot on the 40-man roster, so the fact that Balfour is not on the roster should have little bearing. Salas has been solid since his first outing of the year in Durham, but he still only has 6 games and 11.2 innings under his belt since finally resolving his Visa issues. This is basically his spring training and we have to imagine the Rays will like to get him a couple of more weeks in Durham before a call-up. Birkins was solid for the Rays when he made 6 appearances (0.90 ERA) earlier this season, but he has been knocked around in Durham since his demotion (9.45 ERA), and the Rays already have 2 lefties in the bullpen. That leaves Balfour who is toying with IL batters so far. 23.2 ip, 5h, 10bb, 39Ks, 0.38 ERA…GRANT BALFOUR

If Andy Sonnanstine is relegated to the bullpen at any point…Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann or David Price?

Since the beginning we have been very bearish on Price. Everything the Rays say and do suggests that it is longshot for Price to make his big league debut before 2010(!) much less sometime this season. But after seeing him mow down FSL batters in his first 2 starts, it is very clear that he is the real-deal. Still, the Rays are going to be patient. Last week we said 10 starts at Vero Beach. We are sticking to it, but it will be less before it is more. As for Niemann, he has battled a bit of shoulder soreness and if the Rays need a starter in the next couple of weeks, it will not be Niemann as he was limited to 75 pitches his last outing. That means Hammel if there is a need in the next few weeks, but in the long-run we have to believe that Hammel’s career as a starting pitcher with the Rays is over. That means Sonny’s job is safe, at least until Niemann is ready…Jeff Niemann

OVER/UNDER

15 wins for Matt Garza:

He has about 20 starts left in the season, assuming he can stay healthy. Garza seemed to finally be putting it all together in his last 2 starts. His season-high strikeouts prior to last night was 4. Last night he had 10. This one is going to be close. We have to assume there will be a few bumps in the road along the way, but this kid has nasty stuff. In fact he probably has the best stuff on the staff, which is saying a lot. It has always just been a question of location and not being so cocky with the fastball. He is going to end up somewhere within the 14-16 range. But if we have to pick one or the other…OVER

20 games for Rocco Baldelli this season:

There were reports earlier this week with quotes from Baldelli that he is still planning on playing for the Rays at some point this season. Rocco has a little extra incentive now to get on the field. After the Rays bought out his 2009 option, he is now scheduled to be a free agent after the season. Will any team be willing to offer a major league contract to Rocco if he spends the entire season on the DL? The most-likely scenario has Rocco signing a incentive-laden, minor league deal with the Rays. But keep in mind that the doctors still haven’t pinpointed the problem. And if Rocco does attempt a comeback he will have to spend at least 2-3 weeks on a minor league rehab assignment to show that he can at the very least DH against lefties. Until we hear a confirmed diagnosis and a scheduled rehab assignment, we are very skeptical…UNDER

2.5 wins for Rays in this 4-game set versus the White Sox:

Who woulda thunk that this would be a battle of first-place ballclubs at this point in the season. In fact, if the playoffs started today, these two teams would face each other in the first round of the playoffs…After winning 8 straight games, the Sox are only 3-3 in their last 6 games, having dropped 2 of 3 to the Angels at home and winning 2 of 3 in Cleveland. The White Sox are winning with their starting pitching, sporting 4 starters with ERAs below 4, although only 3 of those will face the Rays. At the same time, the Rays get 2 of their big 3 in this series. The biggest question mark is Andy Sonnanstine. We just don’t know which Sonny will show up. The good news is he is facing Mark Buehrle in the 4th game, and he has been bad all year. Still. At this point we have zero confidence in The Duke. If that game is an L, can we count on W’s from Edwin Jackson, James Shields and Scott Kazmir? That is tough. This is a good squad, and we know Ozzie Guillen will be fired up…UNDER

THE GOOD: Evan Longoria made yet another great defensive play in the first inning. These plays seem to happen on a daily basis now and Dirtbag probably should be the favorite to win Rookie of the Year based on his defense alone…After the 5th inning, the Rays trailed 5-4. It could have been worse if not for the arm of Gabe Gross who saved a run by gunning a runner down at the plate…Darren Oliver, the Angels only lefty in the ‘pen was unavailable after pitching 1.2 innings on Saturday. Mike Scioscia could have used him on Sunday. Scioscia pulled Ervin Santana from the game with 2 outs in the 6th inning with the top of the order due up. The next two batters were lefties. Aki Iwamura doubled followed by a Carl Crawford 3-run home run that would be the difference in the game…JP Howell was simply terrific shutting down a very good offensive team for 3 innings, giving up only 1 hit. In particular was getting Vlad the Impaler to end the 7th. He wasn’t a threat at the time with the bases empty and the Angels down 3, but Vlad never looked comfortable during the at bat and that does not happen very often.

THE BAD: This is Andy Sonnanstine. Although it does appear that these versions of Duke are fewer and farther between recently. When he is hittable he is very hittable…Granted the Rays had a 3-run lead at the time, but if a team gets the bases loaded with no outs as they did in the 8th, 1 run should be automatic and a team has to try pretty darned hard not to score at least twice. The Rays did not score.

THE TELLING: A miscommunication play in the 9th between Carl Crawford and Jason Bartlett led to a pop up being dropped and an error charged to CC. That was the first error charged to the Rays since the previous Sunday in Boston…The Rays are starting to get more efficient on the base paths. We haven’t seen a serious branfart in a while and in the last week the Rays are 8-10 (80%) in steal attempts. Prior to this week, the Rays were only 28-42 (67%)…With no runs allowed in the first 2 innings, the Rays had set a record with 24 consecutive scoreless innings from the pitching staff…Cliff Floyd was back in the lineup for the first time in over a month. He had 2 hits and and 2 RBI…The Rays have now swept the Red Sox, the Angels and the Jays at home and now sit at 13-7 at home…Despite playing in a dome, Rain was not kind to the Rays yesterday. The Yankees game in Detroit was postponed. Without the rain, the Rays would have likely faced Kei Igawa and Darrell Rasner in games 3 and 4 of the series. Now the Rays will face Andy Pettite in game 1 with Rasner bumped to game 4 and Igawa will be skipped…Despite being swept in Boston, the Rays have earned at least a little respect from the Sox. They have yet to earn any from the Yankees. And to be honest it would probably take a sweep to get some. But if the Rays can win 3 of 4 we can at least shut them up for a while…Oh yeah, if the season ended today, the Rays would be the American League Wild Card representative.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Gary Glover has been activated off the DL and Kurt Birkins has been optioned to Durham…Marc Lancaster also indicates that Ben Zobrist could come off the DL as early as today, with Andy Cannizaro sent back to Durham. If that happens that would leave only Willy Aybar on the 15-day DL. [Rays Report]
• Ben Zobrist is to have the pins removed from his left thumb today and has been told that he will be cleared to play immediately after the procedure. [MLB]
• Troy Percival says that defensively, this is the best team he has ever played with. [MLB]
• Roger Mooney notes that the Rays starting pitchers have grown up and are holding themselves accountable for the first time. Mooney notes that the most impressive feature has been their ability to rebound from bad starts. [Bradenton Herald]
• The St. Pete Times has a new blog dedicated to covering the progress of the Rays’ proposed waterfront stadium. [St. Pete Times]

THE GOOD: Evan Longoria’s walk in the 2nd. Dirtbag is struggling and Joe Maddon always said he wanted to see how he would handle a slump. Even if the hits aren’t coming right now, you want to see that he still has a mastery of the strike zone and is not getting himself out. If the that continues, the hits are likely to return sooner rather than later…Edwin Jackson. Yes Nuke. Why? Because if the Rays were going to lose one game in the series, it was this one. Now he is out of the way and we can move on to James Shields and Scott Kazmir.

THE BAD: Akinori Iwamura is bailing out on everything. I have no idea why a pitcher would throw him anything but a fastball on the outside part of the plate right now. When he swings, his front foot lands in the first base dugout…The 3rd inning. After getting the first two batters on, the next three struck out…Carl Crawford’s arm. We have seen some bad throws from CC in our day, but that was one of the worst, and while the wet field may have been a problem, it did not seem to bother the Sox when they were throwing out two different runners at home…Did we mention that the Rays had 2 runners thrown out at home. It is starting to seem as if the Rays get out more on the basepaths than they do at the plate. You know what they say about errors in the field and not “giving the other team extra outs”. Works the same on the base paths. You can’t give the other team free outs.

THE TELLING: Were we the only ones praying for a rainout? Just knew this would not end well with Jackson. He is capable of great starts. But not in Boston on a rainy night after the Rays had swept the Sox just a week prior….Jonny Gomes batted 3rd versus a right-handed pitcher. Huh-wha? He couldn’t even get a start against a righty two weeks ago and now he is batting third?

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Kurt Birkins gets to stay with the Rays a little longer. Gary Glover is now on the DL and Al Reyes is still not ready to come off. [Ray Report]
• Jason Hammel is not officially in the bullpen with Scott Kazmir coming back on tomorrow. [MLB]
• A couple of days ago, we linked to a story on The Sporting News about the Rays improved defense. Yesterday Rob Neyer at ESPN discussed that story, and now he is starting to believe in the Rays. [ESPN]

I was skeptical about [88-89 win projections for the Rays], for the simple reason that the Rays finished last season with a 5.53 ERA, worst in the league. How do you get from there (I wondered) to 87 wins simply by adding Matt Garza? You don’t. But when you add Garza, and get Brendan Harris and B.J. Upton out of the infield, and Dukes and Young out of the outfield, maybe that does get you partway there. Maybe all the way. The Rays are in first place, with the best run differential in their division, having gotten one win from Garza and none from Kazmir. I’m still skeptical. I still think the Rays are more likely to win 82 games than 88. But if they do win 88 games and we’re shocked, it’s because we weren’t paying attention.

• Yesterday it was stories in the New York Times and The Boston Globe that were actually flattering. Today it is the Chicago Tribune. Tomorrow? The LA Times? We only hope that the Devil has a jacket. [Chicago Tribune]
• The Boston Herald calls Evan Longoria a “Sure Thing”. [Boston Herald]

“For me, sometimes when you hear a guy is touted like this, sometimes they don’t live up to expectations or they’re just not as good, in my opinion, and when I saw him, he lived up to all of it and more,” said Longoria’s teammate and former Red Sox Eric Hinske. “He’s better than I thought he would be, for sure. He does everything right, he’s fundamentally sound, on defense as well – he’s got good footwork, a good arm.”

• No Scott Kazmir is not the only surprise about the Rays early season success. DRays Bay points out that the top 2 hitters in the Rays lineup are not getting on base. [DRays Bay]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Bleacher Report breaks down the first month of the season for the Rays. [Bleacher Report]
• Her Rays breaks down the AL East after the first month. [Her Rays]
• The Rays are #9 in this week’s power rankings from The Sporting News. [The Sporting News]
• Big League Stew wonders if the Rays are for real. [Big League Stew]
• Whoever is the oddman out when Scott Kazmir returns might be able to stay a little longer as Al Reyes is not expected to come off the DL on Thursday as originally thought. The means Kurt Birkins will be sent down when Kid K rejoins the team. [The Heater]
• Carter Gaddis looks at the upcoming return of Scott Kazmir and wonders who is going to be the starting pitcher without a chair when the music stops. [Tampa Tribune]
• Outs Per Swing also takes a look at who might be out of the rotation. [Outs Per Swing]
• Rays the Roof names four Orioles that they hate. [Rays the Roof]
• David Price threw another live bullpen session. He is expected to make the first of 3 or 4 extended spring training starts on Friday before reporting to Vero Beach. [The Heater]
• The Rays would make history if they selected Vandy’s Pedro Alvarez with the first pick of the draft in June. [USA Today]
• James Shields was named player of the week for the AL. [MLB]
• Scott Kazmir made his final rehab start on Monday night for the Durham Bulls. Everything went well and he is scheduled to make his 2008 debut on Sunday in Boston. [News & Observer]

THE GOOD: We can thank Brendan Harris for the 2 runs in the 6th by letting one go right through the wickets eventually letting 2 runners score. This is how bad Harris’ range is, he can’t even get balls hit right to him…Kurt Birkins looked solid in his first action for the Rays posting a 1-2-3 6th inning…Jonny Gomes got a rare start against a RHP and delivered getting on base twice in 4 plate appearances…Carl Crawford’s sliding catch in the 8th inning in foul territory.

THE BAD: Carl Crawford’s sliding catch in the 8th inning in foul territory which allowed Delmon Young to tag up and score the go-ahead run…Riggans missed a hit-and-run in the 2nd inning getting Gomes thrown out at 2nd…The Rays had a total of 4 base runners in the first 2 innings and couldn’t score a run…BJ Upton needs to have his wheels taken away from him for a while. Another caught stealing last night is already his 3rd of the year and how many other base-running gaffes has he made?…Another throwing error by Jason Bartlett but this one was just as much Carlos Pena’s fault as he tried to scoop the ball which was a little to his left rather than backhand it (remember glove is on his right hand). Usually those throws are routine for Pena.

THE TELLING: The Twins broadcast crew had their “Aflac Trivia Question” last night: “Who is the only original Ray still with the team?” The problem with that question is there are two answers. Both Mike DiFelice (their answer) and Dave Martinez (bench coach) are “still” with the Rays…Jonny Gomes got a start versus a right handed pitcher?

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• According to Forbes magazine the Tampa Bay Rays are worth $290 million which is just under 1/5 of the value of the New York Yankees ($1.3BB). That is ahead of only the Florida Marlins ($256MM) and just behind the Pittsburgh Pirates ($292MM). The value is up from 2007 when the Rays were worth $267 million. In 2006 the Rays were worth $209 million and $176 million in 2005. In three years the Rays’ value has increased 64.8%…Then again, 64.8% of not much is still not very much. [SI.com]
• Ten is the unlonliest number… Al Reyes is the 10th Ray to land on the DL. It didn’t take a doctor to realize that Reyes just hasn’t been all there this season. Kurt Birkins will be activated from the DL and will be the third lefty for the Rays in the ‘pen…Gotta be honest we didn’t think we would ever see Birkins in a Rays uniform. [Rays Report]
• Everybody is trying to defend Carl Crawford’s play down the left field line, including Joe Maddon (He didn’t know how close he was to the line)…Maybe so, but the Maddon’s facial expressions for about 5 minutes following the play told a completely different story. [Rays Report]
• Fire Gardy calls Carl Crawford “dumb”…That might be too far in the other direction. [Fire Gardy]
• Tristan Cockcroft of ESPN.com says that Evan Longoria is “the real deal” but wonders if the Rays will be stupid and send him back down to delay his arbitration clock…Would anybody be surprised? [ESPN]

Tampa Bay Rays (6 days until Opening Day)

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 13, Pirates 4.

The Good: Holy Schnikey! Edwin Jackson made 31 starts in 2007. Want to take a guess how many times he worked at least 7 innings? Take your time…Hint: You will only need one hand…That is missing three fingers…TWO TIMES. Then again, he posted a sub-2.00 ERA in the spring last year also. Yesterday Jackson pitched 7(!) innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 2…Eric Hinske was 2-3 with a long home run to straight away center into the wind. He added a stolen base just to rub it in the face of the other players that hold out hope for the 4th outfielder job…Reid Brignac hit his first spring home run just before he was demoted…As a team the Rays collected 17 hits and 2 walks.

The Bad: In our best effort to always find something bad about an Edwin Jackson start, he did throw a wild pitch. So take that and stick it in your pocket and smoke it…Scott Dohmann pitched 1 inning. He allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and hit a batter.

The Telling: The two pitchers battling for the final bullpen spot, Grant Balfour and Scott Dohmann each pitched 1 inning with a job on the line. Dohman was knocked around while Balfour only allowed one base runner (via walk) in his 1 inning of work…Shawn Riggans got the start and worked the first seven innings showing he is healthy and ready for the regular season…

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• If you haven’t had a chance to vote in this week’s “Rays Confidence Survey”, you can do so right HERE. [Rays Index]
• And in case you missed it yesterday, the RAYSHEAD ARMY is now on Facebook. [Rays Index]
• In keeping with yesterday’s 25-man roster projection, we have also updated the 40-man roster projection in the sidebar. And the CorkBoard, which is updated at least once a week, will start seeing proper minor league assignments as soon as they are made public.
• David Price will be out 6 weeks with a muscle strain in his elbow. [Tampa Bay Rays]
• USA Today takes a look a the newest First Family of Baseball…The Uptons. BJ Upton’s dad, Bossman Senior, notes the family secret to getting two sons into the major leagues. [USA Today]

“I’d say discipline, keeping them in the church and making sure they had that fear of Mom,” says Manny Upton, a four-sport athlete in high school who works for a mortgage company and came to Arizona in game shape, having just officiated an NCAA men’s basketball tournament game in California…”I’d just give them that ‘Mom’ look, and they’d straighten up,” laughs Yvonne, retired after 25 years of teaching health and physical education. “But when it came to baseball, it was Dad. He won’t say so, but he put in so much time with both those boys when it came to fundamentals.”

• Elliot Johnson will get a start at shortstop today for the first time to see if he can handle being the backup shortstop for the first week of the regular season. The final bench spot will come down to Johnson or Andy Cannizaro. [Tampa Tribune]
• Ben Zobrist, Chad Orvella and Kurt Birkins are all going to start the season on the DL. [The Heater]
• Oh yeah…On of the Rays other top prospects was demoted yesterday. Reid Brignac, unlike Evan Longoria probably won’t be back anytime soon. A good summer though could lead to a cup-o-coffee in September. [Tampa Bay Rays]
• Baseball Musings has their 2008 AL East Preview up. The Rays are predicted to finish 4th but David Pinto notes that if everything breaks right, the Rays have a chance to finish on top. [Baseball Musings]
  
• Outs Per Swing has had enough of Edwin Jackson and doesn’t care if he goes someplace and is successful…On a lot of days we agree. [Outs Per Swing]
• Sports Indeed found Shirley Duncan’s long-lost twin. [Sports Indeed]
• Carlos Pena received the Paul C. Smith Champion Award for the player who best exemplifies the spirit of true professionalism on and off the field. [Tampa Bay Rays]

Tampa Bay Devil Dogs (15 days until opening day)

DRG here again to get you through the weekend…

Yesterday: Tampa Bay Rays 11, Braves 10.

• The Good: Jason Hammel finally had a good start, throwing 5 scoreless. Is it enough to get his name back in the mix? Elliot Johnson continues his hot spring going 3-5 with 3 RBI. Evan Longoria started at third going 1-3 with 2 walks.
• The Bad: Scott Dohmann struggled giving up 4 hits and 3 runs in 2 innings in his bid for the last bullpen spot. Reid Brignac committed his second error of the spring.
• The Telling: Elliot Johnson saw playing time in center field indicating that Joe Maddon may be considering Johnson for the super-utility role in the absence of Ben Zobrist.

Tampa Bay Rays 7, Yankees 2.

• The Good:Jeff Niemann allowed only 1 run on 6 hits in 4 innings to a stacked Yankees lineup. He struck out 1 and did not walk a batter, getting out of a bases-loaded one-out jam with a ground ball double play. Gary Glover and Dan Wheeler combined for 1 unearned run in 3 innings. Eric Hinske played right field and went 2-4. He is now hitting .480 in the spring. Akinori Iwamura turned two double plays.
• The Bad: Willy Aybar started at third and committed his second error of the spring. Josh Paul was 0-1 on base stealers.
• The Telling: Josh Paul started at catcher with Mike DiFelice coming on late. With Shawn Riggans being hit by a pitch in the hand, if he misses any significant time, this may indicate that Paul has the edge to make the team.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

• The New York Times has their AL East preview up and I absolutely LOVE this quote…”Teams that don’t take Tampa Bay seriously will get their butts kicked.” That was Bill Bavasi, the Mariners GM. [New York Times]
• Yesterday may have been Jeff Niemann’s best start yet and with Edwin Jackson struggling, Niemann has to start getting some consideration for the 5th spot. The biggest stat: Of 64 pitches, 48 were for strikes. [Tampa Bay Rays]

“I like what he did today because we’ve been talking specifically about keeping the ball down,” Maddon said. “Even the one A-Rod hit over the center fielder’s head, that ball was down low.”

• Joe Maddon hinted what we were all starting to wonder, that JP Howell may not really be in consideration for the rotation but has a very real shot at being the long-man in the bullpen. [Herald-Tribune]

“He’s come out this spring. He’s pitched extremely well,” Maddon said. “There’s a confidence he has about this role. When you get him one time through the batting order, he can be very effective.”

• Deep breath. Deep breath…Scott Kazmir won’t pitch today after all. Joe Maddon is holding Kaz back so that he can reestablish his arm strength. I have to assume that there is no way Kazmir is pitching opening day now. [The Heater]
• Kurt Birkins and Shawn Riggans were both removed from yesterday’s games due to injuries. It is unclear how much time either will miss. [The Heater]
• The Rays are more likely to make a trade for a 4th outfielder, rather than sign a free agent such as Kenny Lofton. With Jeff Niemann and Andy Sonnanstine pitching well and Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel out of options, one of the latter two is likely to be included in any deal. [Tampa Tribune]
• Here is an AL East preview in which the Rays are compared to the movie “Juno”. [The Grand National Championships]

They seem revolutionary, but they’re really not. Although dropping the Devil is like dropping the fact that the screenwriter is a stripper, being a “surprising indie coming of age tale” is a lot like being “the new bandwagon” in baseball.

• Rays of Light tackles the Evan Longoria debate. [Rays of Light]

Tampa Bay Rays (63 days until pitchers and catchers report)
The Tampa Bay Rays offered contracts to all players with less than six years of experience that did not already have a contract. While many (including this site) had speculated that Grant Balfour would be non-tendered and granted free agency, the move is not surprising. Balfour was deemed the most likely candidate with the recent additions to the bullpen and his pending arbitration eligibility.

Balfour is set to make somewhere between $600,000 and $900,000 in arbitration, a number that is more than palatable for the Rays. However, that is not why Balfour was tendered a contract. Balfour is still on the team at this point because there was no immediate reason to drop him from the 40-man roster. The Rays 40-man roster currently stands at 38 players. Based on our Trade Value Index (TVI), Balfour and Kurt Birkins are the two least valuable members of the 40-man roster. If and when the need arises Balfour will be the first player Designated For Assignment as it appears that Birkins still has an option left and can be demoted to the minors, while Balfour cannot.

Eventually Balfour will be released as there will be no available spots in the bullpen. With seven slots available, Troy Percival, Al Reyes, Dan Wheeler and Gary Glover are locks. That leaves three spots. One of those will go to a long reliever/spot starter. The most likely candidate is Jason Hammel, who will be bumped from the rotation, but is out of options. The team is also insisting on having a left-hander in the bullpen. That leaves one spot. Balfour is about 18th in line for that final spot, just ahead of Chad Orvella and just behind Shawn Riggans. In fact, the leading candidates for that spot are Scott Dohmann (out of options), Juan Salas (one option left) and a player yet to be acquired.

In the end, tendering a contract to Grant Balfour does not mean he will be in the bullpen in 2008. It just delayed the inevitable.

Rays offer contracts to all players [DevilRays]

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• Please note up above, that we have a new email address for tips and comments (tips@raysindex.com). Eventually we will discontinue checking the gmail account.
• Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com is reporting that the Rays are close to signing Cliff Floyd. Floyd would fill the Rays need for a left handed bat/RF/DH. [ESPN]
• Here is a complete list of the players that were non-tendered. [Amazin' Avenue]
• One name that is not on the list, unfortunately, is Ben Broussard. He was traded to the Rangers just prior to the deadline. [Seattle Times]
• DRays Bay took a look at the potential non-tender free agent pool and came up with three players the Rays should attempt to sign, Mark Prior, Adam Everett and Morgan Ensberg. Prior is a fine as long as he can be had for cheap. Doubt it. We like the idea of Everett, but we think there will be plenty of suitors for his services and while Ensberg could be a nice stop-gap at third base, we just think the Rays have more pressing holes to fill. [DRays Bay]
• Rays Anatomy discusses the Mitchell Report, which is scheduled to be released today at 2:00 and asks “Will anybody care?” We feel there will be three significant effects of the Mitchell Report: 1) We will all suddenly realize that Barry Bonds has unfairly carried the weight of the Steroid Era, when in reality he was just the biggest smurf in a land full of smurfs (smurves?); 2) The Report will most negatively impact the hall-of-famer that is in the twilight of their career. That player will not have an opportunity to redeem their image and their ticket to the hall-of-fame will most likely be irreparably damaged (ie. Mike Piazza, Tom Glavine, etc.); 3) We will lose flavor for the young all-star types, and while we may forgive them eventually, we will never forget. If Albert Pujols is on the list, he will have a chance to redeem himself, but he will never be Albert Pujols again. [Rays Anatomy]
• Rays of Light is holding a contest to see who can guess the most players on the list. [Rays of Light]
• The Tampa Bay Devil Rays. 5th Worst sports franchise of the last decade? ‘Bout right. [Dave and Thomas]
• The Rays released their 2008 Spring Training schedule. [TBO]

Scottsdale 8, Team USA 6.
Reid Brignac continues to struggle in the AFL. Against Team USA, Brignac went 1-5 with a strikeout and is now hitting .193. Evan Longoria played third and hit clean-up for Team USA, going 1-5 with a run scored. He is now 3-12 with 3 singles in 3 games with Team USA. Justin Ruggiano went 0-2 for Team USA playing left field and batting sixth.

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA…

• The Rays claimed another player off waivers. This time it was pitcher Kurt Birkins from the Orioles. To make room on the roster, they DFA’d Raul Cassanova. There is a good chance that Cassanova will be retained by the club once he clears waivers. [tampabay.com]
  
• Everybody wants Carl Crawford on their team…until they realize what it will cost to get him there. This time it is the Cubs. Listen Cubs fans…it will take 1) Pitching; 2) Major League Pitching; 3) A young stud Major League Starter; 4) And then throw in a prospect or two. And honestly, we do not see any players on the Cubs roster that fits the criteria. Good luck with the Torii Hunter negotiations. [Yahoo! Sports]
• Bugs & Cranks has more YouTube footage of Elijah Dukes in the Dominican Winter League in their latest installment of “The Redemption of Elijah Dukes”. [Bugs & Cranks]
• Martin Fennelly compares the Rays to the Ugly Duckling now that they are the only franchise that has never made a postseason appearance and they are the only one of the last four expansion teams to not make it to the World Series. [TBO]
• The Austin American-Statesman takes a look at the only four teams never to reach the world series and wonders which one of “The Final Four of Bad Baseball Teams” will be the first to break the drought. They compare the Devil Rays to the Mets of the late 60′s. [Austin American-Statesman]
• The Rays front office released a statement indicating that Jim Hickey will remain with the club as the team’s pitching coach. [TBO]
• Rotoworld ranks the Devil Rays as the 21st most likely destination for Alex Rodriguez. [Rotoworld]

It’d be something if the Rays could upstage Tampa’s other team by bringing in Rodriguez, but there’s been nothing to suggest they’d be willing to double their payroll.